The History of the Swastika

It's true. Before Hitler and the Nazis grabbed onto it, the hated swastika was an ancient symbol of good luck widespread in a variety of cultures, including the Native American Navajo tribe, ancient Trojans, and the Balinese Hindus.

The Swastika

The earliest known swastika symbol dates from between 2500-3000 BC.

The left-facing swastika is used frequently in the Buddhist religion, while Hinduism uses both right and left-facing swastikas. The left-facing swastika is sometimes called a "sauwastika" to take any association away from the more notorious right-facing swastika.

Archaeologist Heinrich von Schliemann

In the late 1870s, legendary archaeologist Heinrich von Schliemann uncovered the buried civilization of ancient Troy. In his exploration, he found ancient pottery decorated with swastika symbols; some facing clockwise, others facing counter-clockwise. As a younger man, Schliemann had found similar symbols near the Oder River in Germany. Through this association, he began referring to the Troy swastikas as "Aryan symbols."

Note that Heinrich von Schliemann was never an anti-Semite. His usage of the term "Aryan" was in reference to a language group rather than a racial group.

The Nazis

At the end of the 19th century, German ultra-nationalists and occultists, including the rabid anti-Semite Lanz von Liebenfels, had contorted the swastika into a symbol of white Aryan supremacy. Liebenfels and other ultra-nationalist occultists of the time merged Schliemann's archeological finds with Eastern religions and the common Aryan language associations with Indian, Persian and Teutonic cultures.

As a young man, Adolf Hitler came in contact with Liebenfels' publications as well as with those of the occult Thule Society. Further influenced by the likes of occultists Alfred Rosenberg and Heinrich Himmler, Hitler and his movement would soon adopt their ideals and the swastika.

In 1946, after World War II, the swastika symbol was constitutionally banned in Germany.

Modern examples of benign pre-Nazi appearances of the swastika

Before Hitler's rise to power, the swastika was incorporated into the design of the Boy Scouts' Medal of Merit. It was also a trademark book jacket design for Rudyard Kipling's classic series of novels set in India, including "The Jungle Book."

Existing today, there are even pre-Hitler synagogues in North Africa, pre-Israel Palestine, and even in Hartford, Connecticut with swastika architectural designs.

A World War I American Army division had even worn a swastika in their division shoulder patch.

The swastika today

In 1985, an American-based group, "Friends of the Swastika", was formed with the goal of making the swastika a benign good luck symbol once again.

The last word

The word "swastika" itself is derived from a Sanskrit (Aryan language) word meaning "good to be."

SOURCES:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swastika

"Move afoot to detoxify ancient, once-benign swastika", Sarah Boxer, New York Times, URL: (http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/national/swas29.shtml)

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/magazine/4183467.stm

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sauwastika

http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a2_156.html